Guilt over watching unsanctioned fight videos
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I am guilty of watching fight videos (not sanctioned fights like MMA or boxing) that have been posted on Youtube. They are the videos of people beating up bullies or girls having catfights. I know that I have asked this before, but are watching catfights a sin. It is so sad that any person doesn't stop those fights (especially the brawls and catfights) from taking place. I noticed that often times it is the girls fighting yet it is often times the guys who record the videos from their cellphones. (Could it be be a coincidence? I often wonder why some guys, especially, would yell "World Star" as if that is a good thing.)

World Star Hip Hop is a website where people post all kinds of videos including brawls, catfights, and videos that could be considered downright porn (if it qualifies as porn). Why not stop (or at least try) some of these fights instead of recording them. I admit that I like to see people fight, even pro wrestling (though I have to admit that while the fighting is staged, it is still sanctioned.) it is like seeing a train wreck.

Last night, I found myself watching a series of videos and had to ask for forgiveness for watching them. So are they sinful train wrecks in your opinion? If I were to watch unsanctioned fighting on television, I would not feel good about it. I would be a hypocrite. (Now if I were watching those fight videos would be the same as watching sanctioned fighting that I enjoy like MMA, boxing, or even professional wrestling?) I also admit that I have posted a few videos of girls catfighting for whatever reason, and I now feel guilty over that. (At one time, as a black person especially (Nearly all of the fight videos that I have watched feature young black and sometimes white girls.) I would have been embarrassed at their behavior, though I realize I have nothing to be ashamed of because I am not in the video.) So have I committed a sin or sins by watching these videos or is it much ado about nothing?

I felt guilty and also a bit "dirty" after watching some of those fights. Some of them consist of young girls who end up degrading themselves and having to fix their lack of clothes. They sometimes would do this in public places while the guys would laugh and then post them (assuming it were the guys that record them on cellphones) online, especially on YouTube or World Star. Now, having been convicted and feeling kind of sad, my eyes have been opened. Should I feel bad for the girls (and sometimes guys) who take part in fights or are bullied online, even though I am not a guilty party to them? Sometimes I wonder now if I should feel complicit to watching those fights. I felt I have been convicted by the Holy Spirit. I find some of those who posts such videos online despicable in my eyes now. I find those who fight or get involved in cat fights quite pitiful and now I feel that most of these fights are demeaning. I have sworn to not watch these videos again.

Good question! I think it is important to keep an eye on what we view as entertainment because thoughts lead to words which lead to action. We can easily start down a dangerous path when we start to indulge in certain brain candy.

While I am skeptical of all hadith, there is one I like. (Supposedly) The prophet Muhammad (saw) said that when you see injustice - if it is in you power to do so, take action (like stop the fight). If it is not within you power to take action, then speak out against it (like "hey leave her/him alone). If it is not even within your power to speak out against it, at least abhor it in your heart (what you seem to be doing).

Within that in mind, I think you are ok. You are not watching these videos because you support that behavior. In fact, you have voiced just the opposite.

Also, I think a lot of these videos can be educational on two levels: (1) understanding the mechanics of unarmed combat. It is helpful to have an idea what types of attack are commonly used. (2) they help keep us from forgetting just how brutal humans can be AND how indifferent bystanders can be. They keep us from living in a bubble and later getting blind sided by something we forgot was real.

And, yes, I get it. In the middle of these videos, you probably catch yourself being impressed by a good knockout or the like. That is natural, (I'd suggest) just monitor yourself so that you don't start normalizing predatory behavior in your own mind.